Alligator Alcatraz is not a joke

Since the Trump Administration dubbed a new immigrant detention facility “Alligator Alcatraz,” built on environmentally sensitive land sacred to the Seminole and Miccosukee Nations, retailers have stepped in to profit on human misery. The merchandise typically shows grinning alligators, sometimes wearing ICE or Border Patrol hats, ready to eat any immigrant who tries to escape.

Although Trump and his allies say the detention center is holding the “worst of the worst” criminal immigrants, many of the people there have no criminal records. The wife of a Cuban detainee reported, “They have no way to bathe, no way to wash their mouths, the toilet overflows and the floor is flooded with pee and poop. They eat once a day and have two minutes to eat. The meals have worms.”

Action

CPT is offering this flyer for its constituents to use with retailers of Alligator Alcatraz merchandise and for other immigrants’ rights events.

Much of the Alligator Alcatraz merchandise is sold online: eBay has a ? icon at the lower right corner of a listing. If you click on it, eBay gives you the option to report the item. “Illegal activity” is the best option of those given:

Alligator Alcatraz is breaking international law and U.S. laws of asylum. Many of the people there have not been charged with any crime and have been denied due process, which violates the US Constitution.

Etsy has a small flag under the photo of the item, which you can click to report it. It has an option against hate speech:

Alligator Alcatraz manifests the current administration’s racist immigration policy, which denies people with brown skin due process and access to lawyers, violating the U.S. Constitution, while leaving white immigrants who overstay their visas unscrutinized. Additionally, the people running the detention center treat the prisoners worse than animals.

If you see Alligator Alcatraz merchandise in stores or outdoor venues, you can leave copies of the attached flyer on top of the merchandise. You can also pass it out at rallies and demonstrations, or leave copies at Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Department of Homeland Security offices. Sending copies to your elected representatives is also an option, particularly if they have supported the current unconstitutional arrests and deportations of immigrants without giving them due process.

The Republican Party of Florida is selling Alligator Alcatraz merchandise to raise money. Their address is Republican Party of Florida/420 East Jefferson St. Tallahassee, FL 32301

Walmart decided to stop selling Alligator Alcatraz merchandise. You can send them a thank-you here.